our story 

The Marin Autism Collaborative (MAC) grew out of a county wide effort, facilitated by Lifehouse, a non-profit agency serving adults with developmental learning challenges, to identify the current services in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) in Marin County and the current gaps in services to families, professionals and consumers with ASD.

MAC is comprised of a wide variety of providers, agencies, organizations and families giving their time to ensure that families, professionals and consumers in Marin County affected by ASD receive the very best services throughout life. The collaborative is a representation of the key players in the county including but not limited to: Parents, Golden Gate Regional Center, Marin County Office of Education, Marin SELPA, Area Board, Matrix, Lifehouse, United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay, Easter Seals, The Cedars, Opportunity for Independence, non-public private schools, residential and adult day centers and consultants.

MAC held its first kick off event in the spring of 2007 with a well known speaker from the MIND Institute, Rick Rollens (parent and founder). Rick presented the current statistics on Autism and encouraged all organizations and agencies to come together in a collaborative effort to address the epidemic.

MAC held its second event in the fall of 2007 and with the help of 150 participants from the County met its first goal of bringing the county together to learn about our how county is currently handling ASD.  Participants engaged in group discussions identifying the current services in the county and the gaps that families and professionals are experiencing in services throughout all stages of life.

In April 2008, MAC unveiled a web directory of services providing families and professionals with a current resource engine for Marin County.

MAC continues to meet monthly and has established an organizational structure that hopes to ensure an on going process of looking at the gaps in services and helping to find solutions.